Wow, have I been lax on posting anything original lately. As often happens, life has taken a few unexpected turns and I just haven’t really gotten around to it.

For the past several months, I was dating a really incredible woman. Unfortunately, it was a long-distance relationship and the 800 miles of separation became too much of an obstacle to overcome, and we split up a few weeks ago. One of the many great things about this relationship is that I learned I can fully commit emotionally, and take all the risks necessary to make it work; and even thought it didn’t ultimately work out, I don’t regret a second. If the opportunity arose again, I would still dive in headfirst without a second thought or a second glance. And the next person who enters my life romantically will also benefit from what I have learned and continue to learn.

In other “news”, I’ve also been having some car problems. The Trooper had intermittent starter problems for months, but every time I took it into the shop, it would start right up for the mechanics, so they couldn’t diagnose the problem. Eventually, the starter finally crapped out for good, and I had to compression start for several trips before I could get it back in and the starter replaced.

Of course, as I’m sure as anyone who drives an older stick shift knows, compression starting a car is not the best thing in the world for the clutch or transmission. I’m guessing my clutch was getting pretty worn anyway (although I never really noticed any issues), but a couple weeks after getting the starter replaced, the clutch died … so another day in the shop getting that replaced (along with the corresponding expense).

Hopefully, the Trooper is back in good running condition and I won’t have any more problems in the foreseeable future … at least not until I can put together enough dosh to buy a new(er) vehicle. Requirements: 4WD/AWD and big enough to put bikes and/or skis inside, preferably without having to remove anything except perhaps the front wheel.

Work is going well; recently changed departments to Corporate Actions/Re-Org. This means that instead of dealing with branches who are trying to figure out how to open new accounts and complaining about statements, I’m now dealing with people who are wondering when stock splits and dividends are going to be distributed; what the terms of tender offers are going to be, etc. Perhaps because it’s new, or perhaps because it requires a bit of research skill and inductive/deductive reasoning, but right now this gig is kind of fun again.

Cyclocross season is going well … yeah yeah, I’m not racing, but a number of my friends are having breakout seasons, and the series is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds, and I’m getting to work with a great bunch of people to continue to make it a success.

Thanksgiving plans are coming together. Christmas plans are in, well, the planning stage … looks like a road trip to Arid-zona to see the fam, along with bringing bike(s) to work on getting in those extra miles over my break and get started on 2010; then on to Los Angeles to see some friends I haven’t seen in about 7 years and maybe a couple of rides up the Malibu coastline … then back to the 801 for New Year’s (although I won’t be doing anything for NYE itself, most likely), and the Last Call Cyclocross Race & Party to close out the UTCX season.

Life is good. It could be better, but it’s been a whole lot worse, and I seem to be turning another corner. I’m looking forward to the next steps in the journey.